A 450-year-old letter penned by Mary Queen of Scots to the French ambassador in England requesting safe passage for one of her noblemen could fetch up to £18,000 when it goes under the hammer in Edinburgh next week.
The communique - dispatched from inside custody at Carlisle Castle in 1568, a year after her forced abdication - is written in French and demands George Douglas be granted entry as reward for his assistance in her escape from Lochleven Castle weeks earlier.
The fragile letter is in excellent condition and features around 12 lines written by Mary’s secretary, with an additional six in her own hand.
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It signs off with a friendly message beginning for the reinstatement of the Auld Alliance to secure her release.
Mary fled from her imprisonment at the behest of her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I, in the Perthshire fortress in May of that year with the aid of Douglas, brother of the castle’s then-owner Sir William.
She was recaptured and taken into custody by English forces around three weeks later where she is thought to have penned the letter begging for assistance.
It asks the ambassador to Elizabeth for a loan of 300 écus - gold coins - and to negotiate with the French royal family in order to secure George’s trouble free passage.
Mary, who had previously wed the heir to the French throne, hoped Douglas would be able to plead with Charles IX on her behalf to broker her freedom.
But the plan was foiled and the former queen of Scotland spent a further 19 years under armed guard before being executed at Fotheringay Castle in Northamptonshire.
Auctioneers Lyon and Turnbull, handling the sale of the letter in the Capital, said it was “unusual” to find the piece in such good condition.
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Experts added the dispatch could secure the owner between £14,000 and £18,000 when it is put up for auction on Wednesday, February 2.
Cathy Marsden, rare books, manuscripts and maps specialist at auction house said: “It is rare for a document with Mary’s handwriting to come up for auction. Having custody of this fragile letter is quite special.
"There are 12 lines written by a secretary, and additional six lines in Mary's own hand.
"The letter is signed, 'Votre bien bonne amye, Marie', which translates as 'Your very good friend, Mary'.
"Given Mary’s unique place in history we anticipate a lot of interest in this sale."
